"Former Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.) said a while back, "If Dick Lugar, having served five terms in the U.S. Senate and being the most respected person in the Senate and the leading authority on foreign policy, is seriously challenged by anybody in the Republican Party, we have gone so far overboard that we are beyond redemption.""

Richard Lugar lost by 20 points to the Tea Party guy, State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, "a favorite of right-wing groups like Club for Growth, and has staked out extreme positions, including his recent boast that bipartisanship is "wrong" and that he wouldn't intend to work with Democrats on any issue."

Rachel closes with:

"As for what happens to the "beyond redemption" Republican Party, every incumbent on Capitol Hill has received the right-wing threat anew: toe a far-right line and refuse to compromise or prepare to be replaced. Full stop. The radicalized party won't quit until it's purged every hint of independence from its ranks."

So 2010 was not an aberration. The Tea Party and their faithful are still on their crusade to cleanse the Republican Party of moderates, and they are succeeding. So what happens to our country and the poor, middle class, the elderly, the sick, minorities, and women if they win both houses of Congress and weather vane, flip-flopper, no backbone Mitt Romney wins the Presidency?

If that happens, all I can say is that America will be slipping further into a combination theocratic, corporate state where government is irrelevant and corporations rule...in other words, a form of Christian fascism.

I'm always disappointed to see a Tea Party candidate win, but a writer for the Chicago Tribune feels that Lugar's defeat by a Tea Party candidate may actually be helpful to Obama'sre-election campaign:

Yesterday, Wisconsin Democrats nominated Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett as the Democratic candidate for governor in next month's recall election, and the Koch brothers have already started their attacks on him.

I'm of the opinion that Wisconsin will be a litmus test for the rest of the country. Walker has angered a lot of folks in the Dairy State since his election, and it wouldn't surprise me if the voters tossed him out of office next month. Barrett received over 1,000,000 votes when he ran against Walker in 2010:

Barret has been very successful in raising funds for his run for Governor, but if you'd like to make your own contribution to his cause (after all, the Koch brothers have sent in a TON of their own "outside money"), the link below will allow you to do that:

Racism. Hmm perhaps if we control everyones mind, soul, and speech all this 'hatred' will be gone, banished from the planet. Everyone who agrees with you will be good, holy and right with the all powerful gods. Others, well they're to be tossed into perdition-judged evil -Then we will all be same. Right ? Utopia achieved. A world of drones. It's gonna be great !

"Not only will Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) distribute WorldNetDaily’s conspiracy-laden book calling for President Obama’s impeachment to every member of Congress, but he has also hired a Religious Right law firm to make the case for impeaching Obama, evidence he will then present to the House leadership."

That's what it takes to get selected as a GOP nominee in Texas...calling for Obama's impeachment. It sells. Campaign donations are flowing in from anonymous donors.

Is the Republican Party beyond redemption when they trade out one of their most conservative senators for a right wing radical Obama hater?

I fail to understood how voters in Texas can keep electing people who should NEVER be allowed to serve in office.

Some interesting tidbits from Wikipedia;

He has received a 100 percent rating from the American Conservative Union.[3] He is also supported by Gun Owners of America and Citizens United, and conservative U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert of Tyler, Texas.[3]

Since he is supported by the Gun Owners of America, it shouldn't surprise you to hear that he believes that the raid on the Branch Davidian compound was orchestrated by the Clinton administration to justify a ban on assault weapons.

During his time away from Congress, Stockman also cared for his father, who had Alzheimer's disease. The cost of caring for him meant that Stockman declared bankruptcy[19] and, when his father's disease became too severe, Stockman moved him to a veteran's home. When his father died, Stockman decided to run for Congress in the 2012 elections.[18]

Logically, if the government had passed a law like the Affordable Care Act that would have helped Stockman avoid bankruptcy, you'd think that he'd be in favor of it. In Texas, though, logic doesn't always prevail.

You may also notice that he serves on the House Committee on Science, and on the sub-committees of Energy and the Environment. Since he's a member of the Tea Party, though, he doesn't believe in global warming, which is just one of the six wacky ideas attributed to him by ThinkProgress:

racism and judging people without knowing them is the same a white guy can judge another white guy unfairly...give them a chance they screw ya then you dont have to like them or do business with them..not being racist can put you in harms way if you dont remember the last time you were in that area of town you got mugged...

I wonder if it would be useful to add some "qualifications" to running for Govt office. Like we expect kids to know basic math & English to graduate high school. Why should congressmen be allowed on Environment or Science committees, to make important decisions for ALL OF US, if they don't even know basic Science? Why would we hire Flunk-Outs to be on our Intelligence Committees? Making apparently (foolish) decisions about going to war, or when to bring the troops back home. Making crucial decisions about Solar or Atomic Power plants, and how we protect our water supply? We ALL should demand that basic or advanced scientific education is necessary for any member of Congress to run for election. Here in the 21st century, we cannot afford to allow neanderthal intellects to determine our future. (Tea Party need not apply: )

eternal flame Wrote: I wonder if it would be useful to add some "qualifications" to running for Govt office. Like we expect kids to know basic math & English to graduate high school. Why should congressmen be allowed on Environment or Science committees, to make important decisions for ALL OF US, if they don't even know basic Science? Why would we hire Flunk-Outs to be on our Intelligence Committees? Making apparently (foolish) decisions about going to war, or when to bring the troops back home. Making crucial decisions about Solar or Atomic Power plants, and how we protect our water supply? We ALL should demand that basic or advanced scientific education is necessary for any member of Congress to run for election. Here in the 21st century, we cannot afford to allow neanderthal intellects to determine our future. (Tea Party need not apply: )

I guess this will not happen; how about "voters", my guess is they are the most uneducated bunch if I look at who gets elected!! Wow.

eternal flame Wrote: I wonder if it would be useful to add some "qualifications" to running for Govt office. Like we expect kids to know basic math & English to graduate high school. Why should congressmen be allowed on Environment or Science committees, to make important decisions for ALL OF US, if they don't even know basic Science? Why would we hire Flunk-Outs to be on our Intelligence Committees? Making apparently (foolish) decisions about going to war, or when to bring the troops back home. Making crucial decisions about Solar or Atomic Power plants, and how we protect our water supply? We ALL should demand that basic or advanced scientific education is necessary for any member of Congress to run for election. Here in the 21st century, we cannot afford to allow neanderthal intellects to determine our future. (Tea Party need not apply: )

I am all for placing qualified people on these committee's regardless of political affiliations , but like everything else in Washington, politics comes first and sometimes/most times it's the only thing that matters.